BEWARE: rain debris and damage can cause serious injury

The Spinal Injuries Association is urging south-east Queensland residents to take special care on the roads or when travelling through bushland following last night and today’s heavy deluge.

Spinal Injuries Association CEO Mark Henley said heavy rainfall caused many unexpected changes to the environment that could cause a spinal cord injury.

“Road trauma from car, motorbike and pedestrian accidents is the number one cause of all spinal cord injuries in Queensland,” Mr Henley said.

“We urge drivers to take extra care on regional and metropolitan roads, given some have been flooded or will now have potholes or other associated flood-related damage.

“Heavy rain also results in huge changes to our environment that we all need to take into account and accompanying storms shift all types of dangerous debris in rivers, creeks and dams.

“Logs, debris and branches in creeks and dams is often what cause a spinal cord injury – if someone dives into the water and hits the debris, they can break their back or neck, resulting in paraplegia or quadriplegia.

“Water levels and currents also change with heavy rains so while someone may be familiar with a body of water, this rain has changed everything,”

Mr Henley said water-related accidents were the third most common cause of a spinal cord injury in Queensland, following road trauma and falls/crushes. Around 90 people each year sustain a spinal cord injury in Queensland – or one person on average every four days.

“Once the rain subsides later this week, residents still need to exercise caution. We strongly urge people to take special care when swimming in creeks, rivers, dams or at the beach given the changed circumstances.

“They need to walk into the water to check whether there is anything under the surface and whether it is deep enough to dive into.

“Taking a minute to check, can save someone a life-time of living with a spinal cord injury.”

Mr Henley said bush tracks and regional roads should also be viewed with special caution.

“A bush track used by trail bike riders, for example, might now have logs or other debris in its path with some areas possibly washed away,” he said.

“Erosion may well have caused some formerly stable areas of track to be uneven and dangerous, especially for novice riders.